


Double Trouble

by Sephypsycologist



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-20
Updated: 2018-12-20
Packaged: 2019-09-23 08:49:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17077163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sephypsycologist/pseuds/Sephypsycologist
Summary: There's two humans in the underground now.And what a pain that's turning out to be.





	1. Anomaly two

This had never happened before.

Aliza obviously could reset, there was no other way she’d be alive at this point, but…..

Now there were two of them.

Aliza and this….woman.

Stars he hated looking at her.

The way she moved, the catch of her breath when she was surprised by something, the sheen of her hair in the half-light of the woods….he didn’t like how it made him feel. That it made him feel at all.

He’d fix it soon enough.

Aliza hadn’t let go of your hand since you ran out of the ruins in tears. She kept talking like she knew what was going to happen, and warning you.

“You can’t trust Sans. EVER. He might seem nice at first, but he’s waiting to kill you. Never shake his hand, never take anything he offers you, and watch your back, because he can teleport.” This sort of seriousness and cold logic should never come from a child’s mouth, but it was clear Aliza was not joking in the least.

She’d comforted you when you’d managed to break through the door from the ruins and slam it in Toriel’s face. As much as you wished you knew what had set the goat woman off and running after you with fireballs, you couldn’t dwell on it too long while running for your life. Aliza had told you why, once you’d bumped into the frail girl while backing away.  
Toriel had gone mad with loneliness and fear of the outside, and though Aliza had escaped in a moment of clarity, you had come through just after and repeated the cycle. And apparently come out luckier than so many others.

But now you were both in the woods, and Aliza was still talking. “Papyrus is rough and doesn’t understand he hurts you when he drags you around. He also won’t care if you die during one of his puzzles. But he’s the safer of the two and you NEED to find him quickly if you ever want to be relatively safe around Sans. Never stray far from Papyrus or you will regret it.”

“How do you know all this?” you finally stammer out.

She stops and sighs, “Did you see a strange flower with an eye in the center on your way here?”

“Yes. It squinted at me and then vanished.” You had been very creeped out, and almost sure you saw it again out of the corner of your eye a few times.

“That was Flowey.” Aliza sighed and looked up at you, dark circles too deep for someone so young ringing her eyes. “He told me humans have the power to reset when they feel their strongest emotions. I don’t know if you can, but I can. It’s part of the magic down here, I think. That’s how I got these.” She points to a jagged scar on her neck, and to a deep red welt on her palm. “Both courtesy of Sans. He’s killed me more times than Toriel ever did.”

You cover your mouth in absolute terror. This…how could this be real? But the scars were there, and with what she had told you and the things you had witnessed already, who were you to doubt?

“Aliza…how are we going to get out of here?”

The child suddenly froze and looked up at you sharply, the red of her eyes shocking you to silence, “However we can, at any cost.”

You were now unsure if it was only the two of you who were in danger down here.

Sans went through the motions, hoping to catch the adult off guard, but he failed. Seems the kid had warned her about his ‘prank’ and about his stand, too. Dang it.

Finally, after the kid led them through the first puzzle, Sans had had enough.

He grabbed both of them after teleporting behind and dragged them back long enough to get Pap out of earshot.

“Okay, kiddies. Buddy time is over. I can only deal with one human at a time, and it’s no adults allowed.” He took out his bone club, ready to bring it down on that blasted human’s head, but the kid got in the way.

CRACK

You opened your eyes and found yourself amazingly alive…and back at the end of the first puzzle. You and Sans were a good distance from each other again, and….Aliza!

She was glaring at Sans, very alive, but you could see a dark, wet spot in her hair that was clearly blood. This was a reset.

You were both grabbed back again, and Sans talked this time.

“okay, girls, let’s go over this again. I will NOT deal with two of you at once. I might not be ready for dinner, but Paps deserves some food that’s not five weeks old, yeah? So let me kill this stupid extra.” He was addressing Aliza as if you weren’t there.

The girl shook her head and stood resolutely in front of you, her back right against your stomach. She had literally died for you already.

You tried to appeal to reason, “is….is there no way we can do this without killing? I…I can just stay by the ruins door. You can get me when you’re ready.”

He jolts and looks at you with that crazy red eye. It’s clear he’d forgotten you could speak. “You….wow, you’re stupid. You have no bargaining power here, lady. I hold all the cards, and I’ve got a full house.”

Aliza huffed, “Sans, you’re terrible at jokes. That didn’t make sense.”

“Nothing here does, kid,” he retorted, still focusing on you. “But you know what? I’m in the mood for games. How about this? You take turns.” Sans’ grin, already oddly sharp at the edges, tipped up unnaturally wide. “Since the kid did the last puzzle basically by herself, how about YOU do the next one. And we’re still going by the rules, before you start.” His eye flicked to Aliza, then back to you. “I’m bored. Entertain me, or die.”

That was clear enough. You also remembered what Aliza had told you about the second puzzle, so you’re pretty sure you can do it.

Aliza makes a motion clearly saying, “I’m watching you” to Sans, but the skeleton disappears and allows you both to move on.

Sans couldn’t help it, his hand was pretty much glued to his socket at this point. The human had SURVIVED the blue snow. Shiiiiiiit. He’d even tried messing with them by shoving up a bone wall, but instead of jumping back and falling into the snow pit, they’d just frozen in place and he’d gotten scolded for interfering by his brother.

Well, now he had all the more reason to hate this…thing. She couldn’t be a woman, no way no how. Had to be some kind of demon or something, another thing the universe decided to throw at him for torment.

He walked along behind them, the kid holding hands with the demon and Papyrus squealing about getting them food. Like hell he’d share their rations with these humans. Well…unless Paps was talking about the however-many-years old spaghetti and the unplugged microwave. Let them have that, he’d be eager to watch them die of whatever bacteria had surely taken residence in there.

The woman, surprisingly the more naive of the two, tried to strike up conversation. “So, um, I understand you two are brothers. Do you have any other family?”

“OH NO, NONE AT ALL!” Papyrus was always eager to talk. “WE ARE THE ONLY TWO SKELETONS IN ALL THE UNDERGROUND AND ALWAYS HAVE BEEN. ISN’T THAT RIGHT, SANS?”

Sans nodded and added, “yeah, we’ve always been bonely.”

The woman snorted in laughter and Sans felt his eyelight shrink. That….was funny to her?

“DO NOT ENCOURAGE HIS PUNNING, TALL HUMAN!” As much as his brother hated his puns, Sans was glad he stopped her laughing. It was doing weird things to him mentally. Not that he had much left to do things with up there, but….anyway.

“oh, I’m sorry…” and the demon really was. Geeze what a tender heart. He’d enjoy ripping through it with his teeth.

“WELL YOU SHOULD BE. WAIT.” Papyrus turned around and Sans froze. “BROTHER, HAVE YOU EVEN PICKED UP OUR RATIONS FOR THIS MONTH?”

Double shit.

“n-no problem, bro. I did it last week. You were out.” Lie, Sans, lie through your teeth. The truth was Undick had cut their rations off again because she wasn’t getting enough results from the Snowdin patrols.

“OH, ALRIGHT THEN.” That was close.

You knew he’d lied. You could see it in that red circle shooting out wide in his socket, the stammer at the beginning, how he wouldn’t stop looking straight at Papyrus as a bluff. Now you understood. These guys were literally starving, and that’s why Sans wanted you dead so badly. Aliza was a dangerously thin child and wouldn’t make much of a meal. You, on the other hand, were a healthy adult with plenty of meat to go around.

You weren’t going to sacrifice yourself, but you felt more in tune with these two, at least. You could read them better now.


	2. Resets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get darker, if that is even possible

Papyrus stopped at a spot in the woods and began looking around worriedly. Knowing that look, Sans came forward, “Head right, bro. Unfortunately we’ve gotta go through the other three puzzles to get to our house. You know that.”

“Y-YES. YES!” There it is, Paps remembers where he is. Good. “NOW! FORWARD TO VICTORY OR OTHER VICTORY!”

Maybe, since Aliza’s never been through this third puzzle, they’ll both die. Or the world will reset enough that this second human is gone.

The growl from the woods catches all of them off guard, and Sans jumps over to Papyrus. This is bad; he knew these humans would attract the dogs but so soon?

“SANS, PLEASE. YOU DO NOT NEED TO PROTECT ME FROM THEM. I AM SURE THEY CAN BE REASONED WITH.” Oh Papyrus, you sweet idiot.

“sure bro. I’ll just be here in case, though, alright? To make myself feel better?” please agree, please agree.

“OH ALRIGHT. IF IT WILL HELP YOU.” Papyrus stands tall and assured despite the appearance of several rabid mutts from the trees. The demon and the kid cluster close, too, and Sans grudgingly lets them. He’d already started thinking of them as HIS prey and nobody took things from the Judge of Snowdin.

Out of the shadows, each of the former members of the canine unit stalked forward, eyes glazed and growling. Papyrus, hopeful as he ever was, greeted them cordially, “HELLO MY FRIENDS. I AM CERTAINLY SURPRISED TO SEE YOU, BUT STILL, IT IS A PLEASANT SURPRISE. HOW ARE YOU THIS…AH, CLOUDY BUT SURELY GOOD DAY?”

The dogs had lost all reason long ago, and simply barked and stalked closer. Sans huffed softly, bone club at the ready. It was always harder on the more animalistic types, being so close to their instincts, and most of them had gone completely feral by now. Papyrus hadn’t noticed, somehow, since it was the predators that disappeared from town first, rather than the softer lapin people that populated most of Snowdin. And there were so many rabbits that the few that had gone missing passed notice for all but the most observant.

The broken armor on each dog creaked and scraped as they circled, Papyrus continuing his useless prattle, “OH I SEE YOU ARE NOT FEELING TOO CHATTY TODAY. THAT IS FINE. I CAN SURELY TALK ENOUGH FOR ALL OF US. YOU SEE, SANS AND I ARE ESCORTING THESE HUMANS THROUGH THE USUAL PUZZLE GAUNTLET. THEY ARE DOING QUITE WELL, SO IF YOU WOULDN’T MIND LETTING US THROUGH? WE STILL HAVE THREE PUZZLES TO DO.”

It was Greater Dog who tried to jump at them first, as the biggest of them all. He didn’t get within a foot of Papyrus before Sans’ club met his side and smacked him across the clearing. Sans was sure he’d managed to at least break a few ribs, so GD was probably out for a while. Unfortunately, the other dogs took the opportunity to swarm, leaping at Papyrus, Aliza, and the demon lady.

“Heads up, mutts!” Sans tossed a bone toward Doggo, who was trying to rip through Papyrus’ boot, and Lesser Dog, who had hold of Aliza by the dress. Both connected and sent the respective dogs flying off a ways, enough to make them circle again for a better angle.

The demon lady screamed in pain as Dogamy and Dogaressa both fell on her, one pulling at her hair while the other bit down on her calf. Aliza was there in an instant, a knife from nowhere flashing in the dull light of the forest as she slashed both dogs. If he wasn’t so busy protecting Papyrus, Sans would have been impressed with the kid.

Aliza stood over you with her knife, giving that terrifyingly angry glare to the monster dogs around you all. The two who had bitten you were out of commission, their faces bleeding and probably at least one of them blinded in one eye. “Get up if you can. They won’t stay back for long.”

You try, and manage to wobble to your feet on your good leg. Your head is spinning from the fear and pain, and the absolute lack of a weapon disturbs you more. Something is suddenly shoved in your hand, and you find a woodcutting axe there.

Sans is behind you, back to you with Papyrus pulled forcefully to his side, “If you’re going to be here, do something useful!” You make a strangled noise, but nod. The warning scrawled in blood back in the ruins runs through your mind.

“down here it’s KILL or be KILLED”

Sans hated arming a human, but they needed every blow they could bring to the fight. Even with only two of them left, the dogs were not backing down. He glanced over at Aliza, then at Papyrus. The kid was clearly not backing down from protecting the demon lady, and Papyrus was not fighting, at all. Stars he hated doing all the work.

“You take Lesser Dog. I got Doggo,” Sans called, and Aliza nodded, both of them lunging at their targets.

You were now standing beside Papyrus, looking from the fights to the injured dogs off to the side. Your companion was wringing his hands, “O-OH DEAR, THIS IS…THIS IS TERRIBLE. I DON’T UNDERSTAND; THEY’VE NEVER ATTACKED US BEFORE.”

You feel your heart sting as you begin to calm down, watching Aliza’s fight end as she spared Lesser Dog, as Sans had called it. “Don’t…don’t worry, Papyrus. I’m sure they’re just mad from being hungry.”

This made sense to the tall skeleton, and when Sans’ opponent ran yelping into the forest along with its fellow packmates, he replied cheerily, “AH! OF COURSE. I FORGET HOW TESTY SOME PEOPLE GET WHEN HUNGRY. THOUGH….IT MUST BE A PARTICULARLY BAD DAY FOR THEM TO DO SOMETHING SO RASH.”

Trying to nod, you find yourself falling over. Your injury is too severe; you’re bleeding out.

Sans almost jumps for joy when he sees the lady keel over in the snow. Finally! If a dog attack is what it took to get things back on track, he’ll take it.

But there’s the kid, moving to her side and getting into her inventory. And a healing item, of course. He didn’t know how many of those were left in the underground, but Aliza had one and was stupid enough to use it on someone else.

He smirked as he watched the wound close up on the woman’s leg. He’d have to think of a nickname for her that was shorter than Demon lady, at some point, if she lived.

Papyrus was watching all of this, then grinned his crooked smile, “OH LITTLE HUMAN, YOU ARE TOO KIND, YOU KNOW. THAT SORT OF THINKING IS LIKELY TO GET YOU KILLED DOWN HERE, PLEASANT THOUGH IT MAY BE.”

The kid just huffed and stood up, helping her friend up as well. She may be healed, but the adult was way too pale to be at full strength. Even if Aliza got through puzzle 3, there was no way this one was making it through puzzle 4.

Good.

Aliza’s shoulder was boney and shaky under your hand, and you felt horrible for needing to lean on her, but there was no other way for you to stay upright. You’d lost a lot of blood and even the healing hadn’t put most of it back. Now you were woozy and unsteady, a dangerous combination.

Sans, suddenly cheery, grabbed back the axe you’d dropped as you fell. “Well, that certainly was unexpected. We’re lucky they decided to make like a tree and leaf.”

You weren’t thinking straight, clearly, since that was suddenly the funniest pun in the world. All three of the others stared at you, and you just continued to laugh even though part of you begged to stop. No dice; you were still giggling by the time you reached puzzle three.

Papyrus began to walk over toward a line of spikes in the ground, “Now for this set of devious deversions!”

You stopped your giggles instantly. Something in the snow, two feet ahead of Papyrus, looked rusty. A trap, and it was very clear nobody else had seen it. You don’t even think, yelling “WAIT” and sprinting toward the hulking brute, diving between his legs, rushing forward before you ran into the trap yourself to spare Papyrus.

SNAP! WHOOMPH!

It was a metal pressure trigger, and by stepping on it you released a massive log to smash down from the trees. It would have shattered Papyrus’ ribs if it hit him, but for you, so much shorter, it smashed in your skull.

CRUNCH

Sans was dumbstruck. He could have lost his brother, right there, from a trap set by another monster that he HADN’T EVEN SEEN.

But you had.

He watched your soul flutter up from your body as Papyrus shook in place, scared and shocked by the sudden act of selflessness.

Orange, huh. Bravery. It never would have crossed his mind with how you’d been acting recently, but he supposed it had to be bravery to stay by Aliza’s side instead of just watching her and letting the kid take the fall during the puzzles. Stupid brave human….you’d saved his brother’s life.

Aliza was white and silent as she looked at your body, then she began to look around frantically. Oh.

Sans knew she would try to kill herself and reset, but he also knew there was no need.

The world had already started to flicker around them.

YOU were resetting.

You were still giggling by the time you reached the third puzzle.

But now you stopped and gasped, “Don’t step on the! The….”

“THE WHAT HUMAN?” Papyrus was leaning over you, curiosity all over his mangled face.

“There….there’s a trap trigger in the snow…over there.” You point shakily and Papyrus gasps.

“OH MY! I WOULD HAVE WALKED RIGHT THROUGH THERE. THAT WAS VERY HELPFUL OF YOU, TALL HUMAN!” He went closer and used a long branch to activate the pressure plate.

Seeing the giant log that had just ended your life made you shudder, but it also filled you with BRAVERY.

Sans pulled his jacket around himself tighter. Not only did you save Papyrus, you told him outright about the trap this time instead of letting it happen. He was torn now between his previous hatred and a very irritating sting of gratitude.

He literally owed his brother’s life to you.

“SANS, WHO DO YOU THINK SET THIS ILLEGAL TRAP? IT’S INTERFERING WITH MY PUZZLES!”

Oh, Sans could guess. He shuffled over thinking how he was going to kill the annoying ingrate of a devil monster for nearly murdering Papyrus. After all these years, keeping him well fed like everybody else in Snowdin, and he sets a trap in the walkway around the puzzle? This was premeditated.

“no clue, bro. must be somebody dumb to think anybody’d fall for it though, if a human saw it.”

“OF COURSE. NO ONE CAN BEAT THE GREAT PAPYRUS IN TRAPS AND JAPES!” Papyrus seemed satisfied with this and continued on his way after smashing the log down with one bone.

Both the ladies seemed impressed, and terrified, of the innocent show of strength. Sans smirked. Savor it, girls, cause it’s the last innocent thing you’re likely to see down here.


	3. Fairness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisbees may be in order

“NOW,” Papyrus thundered to you and Aliza, “You must go into the area with the rocks and turn the O’s into X’s, then press the button. You only have one chance, though, so think carefully or you’ll get a nasty surprise, nyeh heh heh! There are three stages to this, but they all count as one puzzle.”

You want to do this, you NEED to do this, but the bloodloss has taken you out for the count. Aliza helps you sit in the snow, then looks over the puzzle. It seems clear enough, and as you watch, Aliza makes it through.

She turns to come back for you, but you’re suddenly lifted up bridal style. Sans leers down at you as he says to Aliza, “You go on with the puzzle, kid. I’ve got the lame duck.” Then very softly, too soft for anyone else to hear, he purrs, “and what a delicious looking duck you are.”

You blush deeply and feel sick to your stomach, but Sans makes no other threats as he carries you to the next section of the puzzle. Papyrus seems very pleased, “BROTHER! YOUR INITIATIVE IN SOLVING THIS ISSUE IS TRULY INSPIRING. WHY DON’T YOU ALWAYS DO THIS?”

“dunno, paps. Maybe I just feel like helping out today,” his voice is smooth and deep, but the way he flicked his gaze to you lets you know that was a lie. He wanted to use you, somehow, and you’d rather not imagine his actual intentions.

It’s not far in the second stage of puzzle three before Aliza has to reset. It wasn’t even that she stepped on a tile twice, no, she simply stepped on a piece of snow that was not on the ‘correct’ path. You almost throw up before the world shifts again.

You’re horrified to find yourself still in the arms of the murderous skeleton when your eyes clear.

Every time she makes a single misstep, Aliza is mangled beyond repair, and you are forced to watch. Or at least, you do watch until you feel dizzy from the repeated resets. Then you reluctantly hide your face in the musty, blood-stained shoulder of your captor’s jacket.

Sans makes no move to dissuade you from that, but he says nothing else. You know he feels the shifts in time as well as you do, as every round he seems to grip your tighter, his breathing becoming harsh. Why would a skeleton breathe?

Carrying the woman had been a mistake. She was too close, too easy a target. Weak and damaged, both mentally and physically, and her warm skin was just inches from his teeth.

It was disgusting.

When had he become like this? He knew, somewhere in the twisted confines of his mind, that there was a time he’d been softer. His jokes had been innocent, lacking any hidden malice. But it was so long ago now. That person didn’t exist anymore.

But he couldn’t be so base at this point. This shuddering weight in his arms had saved his brother’s life. She had done so when in all honesty nobody should have, to her own detriment. If he looked, Sans could trace the jagged outline of a white scar where her head had been smashed before. Brave and selfless….stupid.

When she hid her face from Aliza’s struggles, half of him wanted to make her face it. The rest…was at war. Some wanted to just kill her, some wanted to drop her and let her fend for herself, and something deep down was whispering how nice it was to feel warm again. It had been so cold since….well, he couldn’t recall anymore, but he knew something in him had died at some point and that was what had warmed him before.

So instead of listening to his instincts, his hunger, his rage, Sans just held tighter. He’d find something to remedy this situation soon enough. Death for humans was not a matter of if, but WHEN.

Papyrus was surprised when the human gave up on the third section of the puzzle without even trying. She waved her frisbee sign, and he sighed, “WELL AS DISAPPOINTED AS I AM THAT YOU REFUSE TO EVEN ATTEMPT THIS SECTION, I SEE YOUR POINT. MY DESIGNS ARE INDEED PRECISE AND BOGGLING TO EVERYONE ELSE! I AM THE MASTER TRAPMAKER!” He was very pleased, though. His brother was being amazingly alert and helpful to their maybe-guests-maybe-dinner. Aliza had gotten farther than any other human before her, and was so very close to the end.

He’d been saving these last two puzzles for so long. Maybe he’d finally get to see them in action.

You find yourself listening instead of looking now. Your eyes don’t want to open, don’t want to take in that you’re really here. But the sounds aren’t as terrifying as the sights, so you do better.

You hear Sans breathing, even now that the constant resets are over for a while. Then there’s the soft crunching of his slippers in the snow, along with the much harsher sound of Papyrus’ tromping boots and the barely detectable shift of Aliza’s steps. And under all that is the oppressive quiet of the trees around you. No wind, no movement of the bows above or the undergrowth. Nothing.

You’ve long gotten used to the scent of old blood on Sans, as well as the dust, and a chalky smell that must be his bones themselves. You wonder if he bothers to shower, or even needs to. That’s a stupid thought; you berate yourself for getting unfocused despite knowing some of it is your lack of blood. This man- no wait, monster- is a murderer. And he is planning on having you, and this child who has already been through far too much, for DINNER. Stay alert, stay on task, and maybe you can stay alive.

On the way to the fourth puzzle, Sans spared a glance for the abandoned nice cream cart. Better days, though the treats inside (and their owner) were long gone. A victim of the purge of shopkeeps. Grillby was one of the lucky few left, along with Muffet. The Empress of Ugly had blamed them, in one of her fits of madness, for humans surviving to the end of the caverns. It was early on in the spiral downward, when her wrath was from depression rather than pure desperation and rage, but still…many monsters who did nothing wrong were murdered. Then again, maybe they were the lucky ones.

He sighs, adjusting his grip on the human and jolting a bit when she whimpers. Oh right, this one’s still alive. “don’t. you’re lucky and you know it.”

She just nodded, not saying anything further.

“good. now I don’t know what you’ve got planned, but you’re doing this next puzzle on your own. No help from the kid, not even to stand,” he noticed her grip on his shirt tighten at this, “but, I’ll make a deal with you, since you saved my brother. You listen to him? You try your best and follow instructions? I’ll change the settings after your third death, make it a bit easier.”

She nodded again, marking her agreement, or understanding. He didn’t care which. The point was she’d taken the bait. And when that third reset happened, he’d switch it up, sure….he’d make it HARDER. Break her spirit and maybe she’d stay down.

Papyrus quickly hopped over to the far side of this puzzle’s board. Sans, sneeringly playing the gentleman, set the woman on her feet and teleported away, giving her no time to steady herself. To his surprise, she stood, even brushing Aliza away gently when the child attempted to be a crutch again.

Her gaze settled on Sans for a moment, burning with purpose, then turned to Papyrus as he spoke, “HUAMNS! IT IS TIME FOR A CLASSIC. THIS PUZZLE HAS BEEN HERE, WAITING FOR YOU, FOR YEARS! NOT A SINGLE HUMAN HAS TRIED IT, AND ALL OUR VOLUNTEERS COULD NOT BEST IT. NOW LET ME EXPLAIN.”

There were so many tiles and colors, but you understood it well enough. Each step had to be thought out; there was no going back. Even as you felt you were walking on a boat deck, you tried to keep yourself calm. You were not going to need Sans’ help. You were not going to lean on Aliza for the rest of your grueling ordeal. You were going to be BRAVE and fend for yourself.

Your first step is clear enough. There’s only one safe tile to start with, but after that is where it began to unravel. Your unsteady gate made you nearly fall even if you made it to a safe tile, and you could plan your route easily enough by looking and remembering the rules. However, that was the issue. You knew the rules, but your couldn’t THINK clearly. At one point, you’d followed the same route with your eyes five times in a row despite it always being the same dead end.

Papyrus seemed pleased that you were thinking things through, and Sans was watching with his usual blank smile. You knew he wanted you to fail, to die and stay dead. Papyrus, though through no bad intent of his own, also wanted that. And you knew….somewhere in your mind, you just KNEW that you wanting to live in this case was selfish. Blame it on the blood loss, blame it on your anxiety, whatever, but part of you hurt for them and wanted to just let them have their food.

But you couldn’t let them have Aliza, and that was what you tried to hold on for. To be there for her.

Where was that strength you had when you dashed after Papyrus? You couldn’t find it now.

You were almost relieved when you fell into one of the yellow tiles and were electrocuted. It hurt, but the darkness before reset was a break you needed.

ZAP

Sans watched her this second try. Her face scrunched up in pain was hilarious, but every so often, she’d get a little further, and something close to happiness would flash there. And then she would look him in the eye and smile, challenging him to pity her now.

And it was absolutely amazing.

She did everything he’d said, and she was making her way through the puzzle brilliantly. The first time she got just shy of the halfway mark. Now she was just four rows shy of the end and was clearly exhausted. He could feel it, she’d fall over again and probably into the water this time. Those piranhas were either dead or starving by now, but there were yellow tiles nearby so the electricity would get her again.

Papyrus made a displeased noise as she wobbled to the next line.

Sans looked up and saw him frowning, holding hands with himself. “bro, what’s wrong? Why the long face?”

“YOU KNOW MY FACE IS NATURALLY LONG, BROTHER. AND I AM WORRIED ABOUT THE FAIRNESS OF MAKING A HUMAN LIKE HER DO THESE PUZZLES UNAIDED.” His poor little brother always wanted to be fair.

“she’s got her freebies, bro. if she didn’t think she could do it, she’d flash them, right?”

“YES BUT SANS…THE WAY THE BIG AND LITTLE HUMANS ARE STICKING TOGETHER….” Papyrus sniffled and looked down. “I…I AM SORRY. I SUPPOSE THE EMPRESS IS CORRECT AND I AM STILL TOO SOFT.”

“hey, paps, no,” Sans tried his best to quell the rising anger in his soul, “you’re tough as nails. But let’s talk about this once we’re home, alright? Gotta look good in front of the humans, huh?”

That perked him up a bit, “YOU’RE RIGHT, SANS. THANK YOU.”

They both jolted when something flopped into the snow directly in front of them.

Sans was speechless. She’d done it, second try, no help necessary. But now she was unconscious.

He was gonna call her Pansy now just to irk her.


	4. Chapter 4

Aliza didn’t even hesitate. Sans was mad at her for it, but she didn’t care. Papyrus was toting her friend around like a potato sack and she didn’t have time to figure out this stupid bridge. Freebies.

Sans begrudgingly teleported them into the house, but it was clear it drained him and he took over a stained and ratty sofa in the living room.

Papyrus, still carrying the other human, poked his brother with his foot, “SANS, LET THE GUESTS HAVE THE COUCH. IF YOU ARE GOING TO SLEEP, GO TO YOUR ROOM.”

“nope,” he replied, curling up more. “too tired. Night.”

Aliza frowned and held her hands tightly. Alright, if Sans was asleep he could be more safely navigated around. They HAD to get away from here. Even if the brothers kept their word and let them live (unlikely), the other residents of Snowdin were not going to be happy about two humans remaining alive. But where could they go? She’d never gotten this far before, and her new friend was still out cold.

Papyrus began to stomp upstairs, “WELL, TALL HUMAN, IF YOU ARE GOING TO BE LAZY LIKE MY BROTHER, YOU CAN SLEEP IN HIS ROOM INSTEAD.”

Aliza wanted to stop him, to take you herself and run, but she couldn’t. She was only a kid, and did not have the strength to carry you.

“give it up, kid. Seriously,” Sans muttered tiredly from the sofa, his back to her and the rest of the room, “I did, and look how it’s turned out.”

“Sans, stop.”

He shrugged and curled up more, “I did quit, y’know. That’s how all this mess started. ‘s my fault, so I’m gonna make sure you two don’t get farther and make it worse. But not right now. You actually made it through, so you earned a night of peace.”

Aliza nodded. She understood, though she’d do everything in her power to change Sans’ mind.

It was late in the night when Pansy finally woke up. Sans had gone to bed long ago, after making sure Aliza finished the meager “human free” dinner that was available to them. You don’t come to dinner, though, you don’t eat, so Pansy was out of luck.

Sans watched her, leaning in the corner of the room and watching the snow fall outside the window. “evening, pal. You made it through.”

She shook as she moved, but he smiled at the defiance in her face, “Where’s Aliza?”

“On the couch downstairs, sleeping. You can check if you like, but I don’t thin you’re fit to go anywhere. So, Pansy, you’re gonna stay where you’re planted.” He let his eye light up more, casting an ominous red spotlight on her face.

She tried, quite hard too, to get off the mattress on the floor, but fell back eventually, completely winded. Sans laughed.

“Geeze, Pansy, you’re completely worthless.” He walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed. “or do you just like my bed that much?”

“This is-?!” she redoubled her effort to get out, but ended up falling onto the floor. Not that far, honestly, and not that much worse than the mattress, but still. Paps wouldn’t like it if he left her there, so Sans picked her up and set her back on the bed.

“Don’t flatter yourself. Not like I have the energy or equipment anyway,” this was more said to himself than her, but she did seem less flighty. “so here’s how it’s going to go. You and your kid stay here till Paps is satisfied you’ve recovered….then you get out of here as fast as you can. Sound good?” He smirked as she shrunk in on herself, “good.”

It was not good. It took a week for you to recover enough to reliably stand still and straight up. During this ordeal, Aliza was your only lifeline. Sans insisted you not leave his room, and by insisted you mean he would appear with an axe in hand anytime you dared step off the disgusting mattress.

Aliza would bring you your meals, very carefully screened by her before allowing them to feed it to you. Small bowls of watery soup, with barely anything of substance more than the bone broth. You notice Aliza doesn’t have an answer as to what kind of bones they are. Apparently, Papyrus piled all the bones they had together and mixed them up. You didn’t care at this point.

You weren’t keen on being a cannibal, but it if was necessary to survive, you’d apologize to their ghosts later. It wasn’t like they needed their bones now anyway.

Once you could stand steadily, Aliza helped you downstairs, Sans’ eyelight making a red spotlight around your toes. Once you made it to their sofa, you took up camp there along with Aliza. You were so thankful to be out of that hideously messy bedroom. It smelled like Sans, and you were sure you did too, now. All old blood and chalky bone dust. The distant scent of snow….that was what always surprised you, though. There was still that pure, clear smell under the corruption when Sans walked past.

Papyrus was always so happy when you made progress. He was overjoyed when you made it to the table the first time, giving you “ENCOURAGEMENT!” by nearly crushing your ribs in a hug. You had long realized that though he was callous in the puzzle segments, Papyrus had something of a heart of gold left in his dazed mind. He would forget occasionally that you were there, only to remember and squeal in delight. You began to feel pain when he would get hazy; there used to be a wonderful person inside Papyrus. That person had been immensely damaged and was now slowly dying.

You doubted there had ever been anything wonderful about Sans, though his humor was something you’d grown to genuinely appreciate. Anything for a laugh in this stinking hell.

Pansy was doing better than Sans had expected. She’d recovered a lot of her color, and from the hazy read on her stats that he had, she was back to full health. Still, he almost couldn’t sleep in his room anymore. She’d left her scent all over it, and it made him both hungry and angry. Why? Why had Papyrus been so contrary and left her there?

And then there were the times he’d manage sleep and wake up with a strange warm haze in his mind. Like he’d had a good dream and couldn’t remember. But he hadn’t had good dreams for years.

They were almost ready to go, too, so he couldn’t afford to be too lenient. The moment they got beyond his sight, the very second they crossed the barrier into Waterfall, that was the end of them. Undyne had more spies in that place than he had bones.

Pansy was awake early the morning her and Aliza were leaving. He stood in the hall upstairs, looking over the railing and watching her sunken eyes. She was focused on the kid, stroking her hair, seeming lost in thought. What did she think about, in these silent, lonesome moments of the morning?

He wished he knew. Already she’d done more for him than anybody had before. Saved his brother, twice technically. Even while she’d stayed here, she’d never said a cross word to Papyrus, never done anything they’d warned her not to, never talked back. It was like she was too tired to, or at least in Papyrus’ case, she was too fond of him to.

Yeah, Sans had noticed the warmth growing in her voice when she talked to his brother. It was hard to miss something so rare. She’d help him where she could, keeping the sofa clean and made up nice, finding things that’d fallen into low places that Pap had a hard time reaching. Even the kid had started doing it, though with less enthusiasm. Obviously, Aliza was only doing this to humor her friend. She had no care for the skeletons herself. Brat.

But Pansy sure cared. And it bothered Sans more than any violence he’d witnessed.

How could she care about Pap, when both of them had made it so clear humans were just food down here? That Pansy and Aliza were the very rarest of exceptions to that, and only for as long as they were with them? That Sans wouldn’t hesitate to murder both of them, if they ever so much as gave Papyrus a bruise?

And yet there was the sound of Papyrus’ door opening, and he saw Pansy give a sad smile as she looked up to greet him, “Good morning, Papyrus.”

Even though she had whispered, Papyrus was at full volume as always. Sans, now hiding in the shadows by the shower room, watched with a fond half smile. “GOOD MORNING, TALL HUMAN. HAVE YOU GOT EVERYTHING YOU NEED FOR YOUR ADVENTURE?”

Aliza had buried her head in Pansy’s lap, trying vainly to keep sleeping. Give it up, kid. Papyrus could wake the dead. Heh.

“Yes, I think so. Thank you again. I know I’ll never be able to repay your kindness,” Pansy was about to cry, silly emotional woman.

Papyrus gave her a soft pat on the head, smoothing her hair, “NO NEED. AFTER ALL, YOU ARE MY FIRST HUMAN FRIEND IN ALL THIS TIME. THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS NOTHING IF NOT MAGNANIMOUS AND INCREDIBLY HANDSOME! JUST…UM…IF YOU SEE UNDYNE, DO NOT TELL HER IT WAS US HELPING YOU? MAYBE? SHE IS….NOT VERY NICE TO HUMANS….OR PEOPLE WHO ARE.” The worry in his voice made Sans snarl softly, and he decided to just go down there. He’d follow at a distance and make sure the girls didn’t slip up.

“Of course. I know how much you value your relationship,” Pansy murmurs, and Sans stops mid-stair. She knows. He can guess how she figured it out, but Pansy KNOWS that Undyne is the one who did this to Papyrus. And yet she’s too kind to break Papyrus’ heart more by trying to force them apart.

Shit.

Aliza saw Sans the whole time. She’d been awake for an hour or more already, but hadn’t wanted to move. It was their last morning of relative safety after all. But now that she was watching more closely, she saw the skeleton’s eye widen, his smile falter, a look of sadness and confusion crossing his skull for just a few moments.

That had happened more often than she’d ever seen before with her new guardian around. Aliza liked Pansy, and as much as the nickname was meant to hurt, it suited her. She was soft and kind, and her imagination was colorful enough to tell the best bedtime stories. Papyrus had asked her to alternate with Sans when he’d heard her telling them to Aliza. That was one of the times Sans had looked at her like that, like he didn’t know what he was doing for once.

Pansy hadn’t noticed, though. She was too busy starting to adopt Papyrus. Aliza liked him, don’t get her wrong, but she just couldn’t LOVE him. Pansy, however, had begun to mother him. It reminded Aliza of the few moments when she hadn’t realized Toriel was crazy, of when she’d felt cared for and like the child she actually was. Pansy could bring that out again, and seemed to be that sort of person in general.

“Oh, Sans. Good morning,” Pansy murmured on spotting him.

“heh…oxymoron, there, but it’s better than a real moron,” Sans replied, shrugging and replacing that ominous grin. Aliza liked his confused look better.

“OH? BROTHER, I ASSUMED YOU WOULD BE IN A BETTER MOOD SINCE YOU SEEM SO KEEN ON BEING RUDE TO OUR GUESTS,” Papyrus tilted his head, and Aliza sighed. Might was well get up.

“well, then I guess it’s exercise day,” Sans had his eyes closed, and Aliza could feel the bad pun coming.

“What?” Pansy was confused as the child sat up.

Sans let his red eye blare open as he smirked, “cause we’re losing all this dead weight.”

Aliza and Papyrus groaned together while Pansy laughed. And there was that confused look again, though it lasted for less than a second before Sans held his hands up helplessly and walked into the kitchen. Not that they were getting breakfast this morning; it was just a habit, from what Aliza could tell.

Papyrus was sad to see them go. He’d had such a good time with two guests to entertain, even if he did have to work so much during the time. Sans had been joking more, and someone was actually laughing again. The humans looked healthier now, more pink cheeked and not quite so thin (still needed feeding up if he was to say something, though).

But now they were leaving, and he didn’t want them to. Beyond his home was Waterfall, Hotland, and the Capitol, all intensely more dangerous than Snowdin. There was no real semblance of civilization in the first two, and the last was a hive of anti-human sentiment and home of the Empress herself. Papyrus dreaded to think of his two precious, tiny humans entering there. Sure he forgot why they were in his home occasionally, but when he remembered it was like he was seeing a sunbeam through a hole in the mountain. They were HOPE for him. They were kind and alive and so very clever. Like….well, like someone he missed very much. And like his brother used to be.

Now he was standing with Sans, watching the girls walk away as he wrung his hands. “SANS….WILL YOU FOLLOW THEM FOR ME?”

“why? You want to be sure they don’t rat you out? Or is that too cheesy?” came the sarcastic reply, but he knew Sans was unnerved about just that possibility.

“NO,” Papyrus put his hand on Sans’ shoulder, making him turn to look curiously up at him. “SANS, I WANT YOU TO PROTECT THEM.”

“what? Papyrus, we’ve already done enough for them. They’re just food, and for once, not ours,” Sans was angry, and Papyrus understood that, but now was not the time.

“SANS, I AM ASKING YOU THIS FOR MY SAKE. I…SANS, THEY ARE OUR LAST HOPE FOR SOMETHING BEYOND THIS….THIS HORRIBLE NIGHTMARE OUR LIVES ARE,” he could feel the little orange tears welling in his sockets, “SANS, THEY COULD MAKE THINGS BETTER. AND I CARE ABOUT THEM NOW. THEY MADE IT PAST EVERYTHING WE HAD, AND INSTEAD OF RUNNING FROM US OR ABANDONING EACH OTHER, THEY….THEY WERE KIND.” He began to sniffle and wipe his face with the back of his gloves. “IT’S BEEN FAR TOO LONG SINCE….SINCE I WASN’T THE ONLY PERSON TRYING TO BE KIND. SANS PLEASE…”

He hadn’t meant to cry, but he was just so tired. So tired of being in the Royal Guard, so tired of being cruel, so tired of being lonely and beaten and living in the negativity of the underground.

“hey, hey, hey, no, bro, don’t cry,” Sans’ voice became warm and soft, his fingers rubbing Papyrus’ arm bones gently, “okay. I’ll do it, just for you. But you’ve gotta be safe while I’m gone, alright? Use that stick I gave ya to check for more surprise traps and stuff, right? And you’ll call me if you forget something?”

“Y-YES, SANS. AND THANK YOU. I KNOW YOU DO NOT FEEL FOR THEM AS I DO, BUT…THANK YOU ANYWAY,” it was good to know someone would be on their side up ahead.

“sure thing, bro. anything for you,” Sans assured, and Papyrus could see he had that strained smile that meant he was trying to be strong for him. He loved his brother so much, and Sans loved him, too. That was a comfort in itself. He nodded, and Sans repeated the action, then disappeared in one of his shortcuts.


End file.
